Rosseau - ..

[PunkRawker677]

I just began reading "A Dissertation On the Origin and Foundation of The Inequality of Mankind and is it Authorised by Natural Law?" by him, and its pretty good. Has anyone else read this and what do they think about it?

[PunkRawker677]

I find it hard to believe that no one has read this. I would have at least expected some output from the likes of vox and peacce. But, since it seems no one has read this. I have a question. I started "Permanent Revolution" and "What is to be done". Which one should i read first. I don't want to read them at the same time. Permanent Revolution is by Trotsky and What is to done is by Lenin, for everyone who didn't know. Well, let me know.

[Socialmalfunction]

dood, i'd go for both. i love reading and cant stand having to chose between one book or another. but then i generally read like 3 or 4 books at a time. so who knows...

[Dan Majerle]

Punk,

I have read a bit of Rosseau. Part of the enlightenment and his ideas really influenced the French Revolution. There is a book or pamphlet he wrote that analyses the monarchial system, parliament system and an autocracy and shows it good and bad points. That is pretty good. I think he claimed to interpret the will of the people, kind of like Castro.

[Maaja]

I have read Rousseau's 'Social Contract' (it was obligatory at school) and we also spoke a lot about him, his life, his views and of course his works.

[PunkRawker677]

Social. I WILL read both of them. But i would like to know which one i should read first. Its hard to choose. I don't like reading more then two things at once. And am currently reading Rosseau's dissertation at the time, so i only want to take on one more for the moment.

[deadpool 52]

Rousseau had some beneficial teachings, but overall, nothing that is new.

[Maaja]

Well, you should read the social at first because it's more concrete and it would give you a clear picture of what Rousseau wanted to say also in his other works. By the way, if I am not mistaken (and I am not) then he also wrote a huge book, 8 or 9 volumes about his own life, he actually loved himself quite much, but you shouldn't believe every second word he wrote there because actually he loved also to make things up! But Social is very good, I have even done analisys of it, about every single line!

[peaccenicked]

Rousseau was too bourgeois for me, but I loved his 'Confessions' and his intense honesty. I think Hegel's politics were developed out of the "Social Contract''.
This is important to the development of Marx's ideas as
Marx saw himself initially as a Left- Hegelian.

[suffianr]

I read the Social Contract and Meditations of a Solitary Walker ages ago...as with everyone else, I'd recommend both, but the former requires a little patience to digest, if I recall correctly, Rousseau takes his own sweet time in drawing rhetorical conclusions, but they are interesting, nonetheless.

[perception]

I've read Discourse on the origin of Inequality and most of Social Contract. I love his shit, way ahead of his time. I think he has better philosophical groundings than Marx ever did.

[perception]

Quote: from deadpool 52 on 9:57 pm on Oct. 4, 2002

Rousseau had some beneficial teachings, but overall, nothing that is new.


Considering he was writing in an 18th century absolute monarchy, I'd say it was pretty new at the time.

[deadpool 52]

As if no one had ever spoken out against a monarchy before.

Another thing about Rosseau I could never like, his cult on nature.